STATE OF ALABAMA
ST. CLAIR COUNTY
The City Council of the City of Pell City met in a work session at the City Hall at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, October 12, 2015. Present were Council President James McGowan, Councilmembers Jay Jenkins, Dot Wood, Sharon Thomas and Terry Templin. Council President McGowan opened the meeting for discussion.
The invocation was led by Jay Headrick.
The pledge to the American flag was led by Councilmember Terry Templin.
The City Clerk had roll call for attendance.
Councilmember Thomas stated that she had not had a chance to review the payment of bills on file. She will review them after the council meeting.
Invoices on the Municipal Complex were presented for discussion. These invoices were a separate item because they were not submitted in time to make the regular payables. Forsyth Building Company submitted Pay Request #2 in the amount of $36,257.00. R J Mechanical presented Pay Request #1 in the amount of $195,520.00.
There were no comments on the minutes of the regular council meeting held on September 28, 2015.
Jason Goodgame gave an update on the Municipal Complex and the Splash Pad. Mr. Goodgame reported that the plumbing rough-in on the Municipal Complex is almost 100% complete. He’s waiting to get information on the Access Control from Blake. They are also working on some items that were outside of the bid package. Mr. Goodgame reported that the electrical rough-in is in progress. The HVAC is 100% complete on the rough-in. The units have been ordered and they are waiting on their arrival. Mr. Goodgame and his staff will be working with CenturyLink in the upcoming weeks to schedule some downtime for the installation of the units. Council President McGowan asked if they were ahead of schedule. Mr. Goodgame stated that they were on par. Mr. Goodgame reported that they had met with city employees last week to discuss the Splash Pad. They helped them make changes on the site. They adjusted the grade a little bit in order to cut out two or three steps. Mr. Goodgame stated that the City should be done with the building pad today or tomorrow. The contractors are scheduled to start Monday morning. There is about three or four weeks’ work left to be done on the site.
Battalion Chief Tim Kurzejeski and Lt. Kim Wolfe updated the council on the Fire Department’s Educational Programs that are presented throughout St. Clair County during Fire Safety Month. Battalion Chief Kurzejeski stated that October was a busy month for the Fire Department. They have events throughout Pell City as well as throughout the entire county with all shifts participating. They get out and talk to the people in the community and visit the children in the schools. Battalion Chief Kurzejeski says it gives them the opportunity to interact with the people in the communities. Lt. Wolfe, who is over the Educational Program, presented a packet to the council with brochures covering the different subjects they teach on. There’s information for adults as well as for children. Some of the subjects covered are tornadoes, smoke alarms, fireworks safety, preventing falls in the home, fire extinguishers, appliances, space heaters, carbon monoxide, Halloween safety and other items that could cause harm to an individual or home. Lt. Wolfe stated that they visit the schools, Senior Citizen Centers and even set up the Smoke Trailer at Home Depot to teach safety. Councilmember Templin commended the Fire Department on the great job they do. Lt. Wolfe stated they would be happy to speak to any organization. All they need to do is call. Councilmember Jenkins stated that he joined Councilmember Templin in commending the Fire Department; education is the key.
Jason Mitcham addressed the council regarding the issue at Lifeline Village which is currently being operated by The Wellhouse, Inc. Mr. Mitcham spoke on behalf of the citizens of Hardwick Road, Addie Lane, Steeplechase Subdivision and Seddon Farms Subdivision. Mr. Mitcham stated that he would like the council to explain how The Wellhouse is allowed to operate on the Lifeline Village property. His understanding is that if a non-conforming business operates at a location where a similar type business has ceased to operate, then they are allowed to operate in the non-conforming location as long as it has been less than a year that the original business ceased operations. Mr. Mitcham stated that he thought Lifeline had been shut down for approximately three years. They kept a family on the property as custodians. They did not actually house anyone during that time. Mr. Mitcham stated that he had spoken with Al Worthington with The Wellhouse. Mr. Worthington told him that there was only a miniscule difference between how Lifeline operated and how The Wellhouse operates. Mr. Mitcham stated that the citizens in the neighborhood felt very differently because they lived there and was witness to some of the things that occurred in the neighborhood. The neighbors understood that Lifeline basically served as an adoption agency. They took in unwed mothers and assisted in the adoption process. The Wellhouse is a rehabilitation for victims of sex trafficking. The neighbors feel there is a huge difference in the type of services provided by the two organizations. They would just like an explanation as to how The Wellhouse is allowed to operate in an R-A zone, which is non-compliant. Mr. Muenger stated that the City is researching the operational history of the property. He is planning to sit down with the representatives of The Wellhouse and hopefully the representatives of Lifeline Village sometime this week to try and get a better understanding of their operations and what the differences may be. Mr. Mitcham stated that their concern was the tremendous amount of increased traffic. Women have been seen leaving the premises with a suitcase in tow. They are afraid to allow their children to play outside. This is not something that belongs in the middle of subdivisions. Mr. Mitcham stated that no one disagreed with the mission of The Wellhouse. They just feel it doesn’t belong in the neighborhood. Councilmember Thomas stated that she spoke to someone at The Wellhouse and they stated that they currently have eighteen females and one set of house parents at the facilities. She also noted that people are having a hard time selling their homes in that neighborhood because of the location of the facilities. Mr. Mitcham stated that they had additional concerns because The Wellhouse had submitted a request to the Planning Commission for a lot split and rezoning of part of the property. The proposed plans were to add additional homes in the future. As of today, the request had been withdrawn by The Wellhouse. Council President told the citizens in attendance that the City would research the matter and try to come up with some answers.
Joe Wheeler addressed the council regarding the concerns he had about a telecommunications tower being approved for 2308 15th Avenue South. Mr. Wheeler stated that he had only known about the tower for two weeks even though it had been going on since January. He wanted to know why a special ordinance for telecommunications was passed. He has sought attorney advice on what he can do as a citizen to prevent the tower from being built. Mr. Wheeler stated that he had offered the company other property on which to locate the tower but they refused. City Attorney John Rea explained that the new ordinance took two ordinances and basically made it into one in order to blend and harmonize both ordinances and eliminate any confusion. It was explained to Mr. Wheeler that a Public Hearing notice was posted to have citizen input on the new telecommunications ordinance. The revised ordinance was presented to the Planning Commission prior to being presented to the council for consideration. There are certain limitations on where a tower can be located. David Andrews, CMS, asked the council how they would like to handle the discussion. He would be glad to meet with Mr. Wheeler anytime to discuss the matter. Mr. Andrews also explained that the proposed site is zoned commercial and it can be located next to residential property. It meets the required setbacks and height requirements. There will be no lights on the tower and it has cleared FAA certification. It presents no hazard to anyone. Mr. Andrews explained that if the City did not adopt an ordinance regulating telecommunications towers, anything could be built. The City opted to adopt an ordinance so applicants have to abide by the ordinance. If the applicant is denied after following all of the guidelines, then the applicant can come back and ask why. The City can’t deny the application for a general reason; it has to be for a specific reason based on the guidelines of the ordinance. Mr. Andrews stated that even though some residents had cited health issues as a reason for denying the application, this is regulated by the Federal Government and can’t be denied for that reason. Mayor Funderburg stated that they had previously asked the applicant to look at other locations. Mr. Andrews provided a search map of where they had looked. He stated that they had actually gone outside of the search area. One piece of property was owned by the City. A well was located on the property so they were unable to meet the setbacks. They had eliminated other properties because they did not meet the requirements for one reason or another. Mr. Andrews added that a lot of time and effort has already gone into locating the right piece of property before the application is ever made. They are required to conduct an environmental study not an impact study. Mr. Andrews also stated that they had conducted a balloon test which was published in accordance with the 1975 Code of Alabama. e stated that Pell City had some of the most stringent guidelines in the State of Alabama. Council President McGowan stated that they were here representing the people. He asked Mr. Andrews if he would meet with Mr. Wheeler and discuss any of the concerns he may have. He will have it back on the agenda at the next meeting.
In February of this year, the council approved an agreement with Richard Shell for trapping on property the city owns located on Golf Course Road. The agreement was for a six-month period. However, Mr. Shell never signed the agreement because trapping season was almost over at that time. He would like to sign the agreement now since trapping season begins in November.
In August, the Community Center sustained water damage from flooding. ServPro was called out for an emergency clean-up of the damage, which took five days to complete. They submitted an invoice in the amount of $16,925.00. The carpet was heavily damaged so it needed replacing; it was replaced with VCT Tile. Also, City Manager Muenger received quotes on flood insurance for the building. He would like the council’s guidance on what coverage and deductible they would prefer. He spoke with the City’s insurance agent and was given a few options. One option was a $500,000 policy with a $5,000 deductible at a cost of $6,300 a year. Another option was a $100,000 policy with $15,000 content coverage for $1,600 a year with a lower deductible. Mr. Muenger stated that he felt that the lower coverage was the better option given the use of the building and the types of flooding that we’ve seen there in the past. The Boys and Girls Club is already back in the building and operating normally.
The State of Alabama has approved a Deferred Compensation Plan for municipal workers. This plan allows employees to invest money in an account towards their retirement. There is no match required from the city. It’s strictly on an employee voluntary basis. This plan is in addition to the Retirement Systems of Alabama. This a 457B Plan which has some management fees.
The Police Department requested that a separate bank account be opened up for Federal Seizure Funds. These funds have to be kept separate from the State Seizure Funds.
City Manager Muenger presented the Capital Projects Budget for FY 15/16 totaling $969,534.00. He asked the City Council to adopt a resolution formalizing the projects. This is the list that was compiled based on the council discussions held at the Budget Work Session on September 17th.
At a previous meeting, the City Council awarded the bid to J. A. Dawson for the provision and installation of playground equipment at the Glenn City Park & 19th Street Park through an LWCF Grant. A contract between the City and J. A. Dawson was prepared with certain provisions as detailed in the grant. The equipment has been placed on order.
Bids were received on the upfitting of the five new police vehicles. This was the second time bids were solicited. No bids were received the first time. The second time, two bids were received but one was received late. The sole responsible bid was received from Service Lighting Solutions, LLC in the amount of $49,260.00. With this amount over budget, Lt. Doug Carden negotiated with Service Lighting Solutions for a lower bid of $39,680.00.
In 2014, the State of Alabama set up the Alabama Tax Tribunal to settle disputes between the taxpayer and the municipality if the occasion ever arose. Municipalities had an option to opt out if they so desired. The City’s Business License and Sales Tax Auditors, Trobaugh and Company, recommended that the city pass an ordinance opting out of the Alabama Tax Tribunal.
As in previous years, the State is asking counties and municipalities to pass a resolution supporting the Severe Weather Preparedness Tax Holiday. The Tax Holiday will be held the last weekend in February 2016. The City had previously passed a resolution each year. City Manager Muenger had suggested that the Council pass an ordinance that would support the Tax Holiday until at such time the Council wished to rescind the ordinance.
City Manager Comments: City Manager Muenger thanked the Police Department on the work they did negotiating on the vehicle outfitting bid and getting the amount lowered by nearly $10,000.00.